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Good governance has always been linked to the development status of a country and everybody knows that this is one quality that is sorely missing in the African continent. Recently, the list of African countries with the worst governance in 2024 was released by World Economics, and surprisingly not one of the military-led governments was on that list. I mean, with how the military governments of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso have been condemned in recent times as if they carry the worst plague on the planet, I would have thought that they would be on that list. However, it's the seemingly democratic and civilian countries such as Nigeria, Chad, the DRC, and CAR, that are on the list.
The World Economics Governance Index is a measure of a country’s governance that uses four criteria including political repression, human rights abuses, economic mismanagement, and conflict. This means that governance, corruption perception, rule of law, press freedom, and political rights are all considered equally important factors in determining the overall governance score for a country. The Index ranges from 0-100 with higher values indicating better conditions. Now, in addition to releasing the list of African countries with the worst governance in 2024, World Economics also released the top ten African countries with the best governance in 2024, and guess what? Burkina Faso, a military-led government was on that list with a score of 51.8. This is great news considering the fact that military governments are considered the worst in the world. And, it also points to the fact that Burkina Faso is on that list because of the leadership of one man, Captain Ibrahim Traore.